Missed sailing from NYC, can't board until foreign port?

This didn't happen to me but someone posted in an Oceania roll call that her flight to NYC (day of sailing) was cancelled and the cruise line won't let them board until the first non-US port, which is the 5th day (of a 10 day cruise) in Halifax. There are 3 US ports before then in Newport, Boston and Portland. I asked how that was possible and she responded:

We were told there is a maritime law that does not allow boarding another US port other than the origination port, hence, Halifax.

Is this true? Obviously this is a great example of why you never fly in on the day of the cruise, but they were using cruise line supplied air.

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This didn't happen to me but someone posted in an Oceania roll call that her flight to NYC (day of sailing) was cancelled and the cruise line won't let them board until the first non-US port, which is the 5th day (of a 10 day cruise) in Halifax. There are 3 US ports before then in Newport, Boston and Portland. I asked how that was possible and she responded:

 

 

We were told there is a maritime law that does not allow boarding another US port other than the origination port, hence, Halifax.

 

Is this true? Obviously this is a great example of why you never fly in on the day of the cruise, but they were using cruise line supplied air.

 

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The statement is not quite correct. The law, the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) restricts foreign flag ships from transporting passengers from one US port to another US port, which embarking at Newport and disembarking at NYC would be. There are exceptions to this, for example between Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands and the mainland US, and any cruise that calls at a "distant" foreign port (distant foreign port being defined as a port that is not in North or Central America, the Caribbean, Bahamas or Bermuda). The fine, to the cruise line has recently been increased to $675 per person. The ticket contract terms allow the cruise line to pass this fine to the passenger.

Typically, however, if the cruise line arranged the air travel, or there was some major weather problem that precluded a large number of guests from embarking at the normal port, the cruise line eats the fine (for arranged air) or gets a waiver (for weather delays).

The above poster is absolutely correct and succinctly explained the situation, but let me provide more detail on the law and its applicability here, because it can get confusing. (Most often people aren't aware of the different situations, mix things up a bit and call it the "Jones Act" which is similar, but regulates cargo.)

There are different types of travel involving US ports and foreign-flagged vessels. A "trip" is defined as where a passenger actually initially boards the ship and later debarks (regardless of the purchased itinerary)

1. The trip starts and/or ends in a foreign port.
   The law doesn't apply. No penalties.
   
2. The trip starts and ends at the same US port with no stops. (Cruise to nowhere)
   The law doesn't apply, but recent security restrictions have mostly stopped them.
   
3. The trip starts and ends at the same US port - not a cruise to nowhere, (Most cruises)
   The ship must stop at any foreign port, including Canada, Mexico & Caribbean.
   
4. The trip starts and ends at different US ports
   The ship must stop at a distant foreign port, not including Canada, Mexico or Caribbean (except for the ABC Islands, which the law considers part of S. America) This is why canal transits will always have a port call somewhere like Colombia or Aruba. It is this part of the law that would apply for boarding in Newport and debarking in New York.
   
   

Here's a link to the US government publication on the PVSA of 1886 (Yep, passed over 130 years ago to protect our flourishing passenger ship business - which hasn't existed for over 60 years) https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ICP%20Pax%20Vessel%20Services%20Act%20Apr%202010.pdf

Wow I hope they are able to get a refund for the cruise. If the air was provided by the cruise line they really should pay the fine and let them on the ship in the next US port.

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Here's a link to the US government publication on the PVSA of 1886 (Yep, passed over 130 years ago to protect our flourishing passenger ship business - which hasn't existed for over 60 years) https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ICP%20Pax%20Vessel%20Services%20Act%20Apr%202010.pdf

The thing that most folks here on CC forget is that this is the Passenger Vessel Services Act, not the Cruise Vessel Services Act, and that the international definition of a passenger vessel is any vessel that carries "more than 12 passengers for hire". Therefore, the PVSA protects our ferries, commuter boats, water taxis, dinner cruises, casino boats, whale watching boats, and also most charter fishing vessels.

The second thing that most don't know is that the Act was not passed to "protect" our passenger ship business, but was passed as an outgrowth of the Steamship Act of 1852, which was passed to set safety standards for the steam boats on American rivers and harbors that were frequently catching fire and exploding. This act created the Steamboat Inspection Service, the forerunner of today's USCG Marine Inspection Division. The steamboat operators decided to flag their boats in foreign countries to get around the act, so the PVSA was passed to ensure that all passenger vessels in US coastal trades were US flag and subject to the US safety laws.

Wow I hope they are able to get a refund for the cruise. If the air was provided by the cruise line they really should pay the fine and let them on the ship in the next US port.

 

 

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They can make a claim on their travel insurance policy.

bon voyage

This statement was all over our Carnival NE/Canada cruise paperwork last year. Many warnings about not being able to board until Canada

No refund from Oceania. They have been totally unresponsive to this situation. We spent 3 hours this morning filling out a claim with the insurance company....copies of credit card statements, copies of text messages from AA re flight cancellation, etc. Oceania should give us something for our trouble!

The second thing that most don't know is that the Act was not passed to "protect" our passenger ship business, but was passed as an outgrowth of the Steamship Act of 1852, which was passed to set safety standards for the steam boats on American rivers and harbors that were frequently catching fire and exploding. This act created the Steamboat Inspection Service, the forerunner of today's USCG Marine Inspection Division. The steamboat operators decided to flag their boats in foreign countries to get around the act, so the PVSA was passed to ensure that all passenger vessels in US coastal trades were US flag and subject to the US safety laws.

Thank you! I had not known that (obviously) but had always heard what I reported.

- Mark

No refund from Oceania. They have been totally unresponsive to this situation. We spent 3 hours this morning filling out a claim with the insurance company....copies of credit card statements, copies of text messages from AA re flight cancellation, etc. Oceania should give us something for our trouble!

Why was the flight cancelled ?

Did Oceania try to get you on another flight to NYC the same day?

Did you book direct or with a TA ?

No refund from Oceania. They have been totally unresponsive to this situation. We spent 3 hours this morning filling out a claim with the insurance company....copies of credit card statements, copies of text messages from AA re flight cancellation, etc. Oceania should give us something for our trouble!

That's very disappointing. At least you have travel insurance to cover it. I'm still shocked that there was no other flight option to get you to NY in time and of course that Oceania has been so unresponsive.

This statement was all over our Carnival NE/Canada cruise paperwork last year. Many warnings about not being able to board until Canada

That's interesting. I'm on this same cruise in 3 weeks and see no warnings in the online paperwork I have (it's probably in the Blue Book with the whole contract). And when I did a Canada/NE cruise on Anthem of the Seas a few years ago I don't recall seeing it, either. Of course, since I drive to the port it doesn't really effect me. But I'm guessing the rule also affects people who take a cruise south with the first stop in Port Canaveral. Would they be able to catch up with the cruise in Puerto Rico?

The fine, to the cruise line has recently been increased to $675 per person. The ticket contract terms allow the cruise line to pass this fine to the passenger.

 

Typically, however, if the cruise line arranged the air travel, or there was some major weather problem that precluded a large number of guests from embarking at the normal port, the cruise line eats the fine (for arranged air) or gets a waiver (for weather delays).

I have no direct experience in this matter, and have no desire to go read the regulations in full, but I wouldn't be surprised if the regulations are written such that the fine applies if the cruise line allows, or the passenger demands, a passenger to LEAVE a cruise in violation of the PVSA (in other words, joined the ship at the beginning, but perhaps suffered a personal catastrophe of some form or medical episode requiring evacuation, etc.). However, the fine may not be an option (or the fine may be significantly higher) for a passenger to knowingly join the cruise in violation of the PVSA, hence the reason the cruise line is being so steadfast.

I have no direct experience in this matter, and have no desire to go read the regulations in full, but I wouldn't be surprised if the regulations are written such that the fine applies if the cruise line allows, or the passenger demands, a passenger to LEAVE a cruise in violation of the PVSA (in other words, joined the ship at the beginning, but perhaps suffered a personal catastrophe of some form or medical episode requiring evacuation, etc.). However, the fine may not be an option (or the fine may be significantly higher) for a passenger to knowingly join the cruise in violation of the PVSA, hence the reason the cruise line is being so steadfast.

The fine is, and historically has been, levied for medical disembarkations and even the death of the passenger. The CBP does not really care what the reason is, the fine will be levied. And CBP really doesn't care that the passenger ends up paying the fine, they have levied it against the cruise line, who is the entity that violated the Act. However, in the case of medical disembarkations or death, the cruise line will provide documentation that the passenger paid the cruise line for the violation, and the passenger is then responsible for petitioning CBP for a waiver of the PVSA to get their money back. It is generally refunded in cases like this. The PVSA is also frequently waived in cases where a cruise is not able to make any foreign port calls due to weather or mechanical difficulties. The fine is almost always levied, it is then a process to get it waived and the money refunded, whether it is the passenger or the cruise line.

I have known other lines (including NCL) to swallow the fine if passengers on their arranged flights are delayed and miss embarkation. Not sure why Oceania is not doing this.

To be 100% accurate, the PVSA fine was increased on Nov. 2, 2015 from $300 each passenger to $778 each passenger, not $675 as previously stated.

That's interesting. I'm on this same cruise in 3 weeks and see no warnings in the online paperwork I have (it's probably in the Blue Book with the whole contract). And when I did a Canada/NE cruise on Anthem of the Seas a few years ago I don't recall seeing it, either. Of course, since I drive to the port it doesn't really effect me. But I'm guessing the rule also affects people who take a cruise south with the first stop in Port Canaveral. Would they be able to catch up with the cruise in Puerto Rico?

There's a regulatory exception to the PVSA for Puerto Rico so if the cruise line is willing to let you board there no PVSA violation would occur. This would require the cruise line to submit a new manifest to DHS so some cruise lines have been reluctant to do the additional paperwork and incur the small additional charge for submitting a new manifest.

Thank you! I had not known that (obviously) but had always heard what I reported.

- Mark

Unfortunately, what you reported is the Wiki take on the PVSA, which many take as gospel. Maritime labor was just starting to get organized when the PVSA was passed. The nation's oldest maritime union was formed in 1875, only 11 years before the PVSA, and it only pertained to engineers on river and Great Lakes steamboats. Hardly a lobbying force. There was no competition for shipbuilding back then, you didn't build a river steamboat in Europe and sail it across the ocean (it wouldn't make it), you built it in the US. So, there was nothing to "protect" the industry from.

Again, most cruisers from the US think that because the USCG inspects the foreign flag cruise ships, that the ships must abide by USCG regulations. That is not correct. The USCG is inspecting the foreign flag ships as "Port State Control" agency, meaning as an agent for the nation whose port the ship is in. Any country in the world can inspect any ship of any flag that is in their ports as "Port State Control". However, PSC inspections can only determine if SOLAS, MARPOL, and other international conventions are being met, not the more stringent requirements that the USCG places on US flag ships. For instance, the hotel crew on foreign flag cruise ships are not fully credentialed merchant mariners, only the deck and engine crew. The USCG, however, requires that all crew that hold an emergency duty (virtually every crew member) must be fully credentialed, with the attendant cost and time for training.

PVSA came into play during Hurricane Sandy.

We left Brooklyn NYC for Bermuda but we turned North and ended up in Boston tied to the pier with 21 lines and two tugs keeping us there in 90 knot winds the day after we left NY.

We were not allowed ashore for 3 days as the cruise line had to get an exception to the PSVA as people wanted to leave the ship and return on their own to NYC. When that was in all place and buses to NYC provided by the cruise line those leaving as those staying on the ship were allowed off.

The ship did finally did go back to NYC from Boston, we were again told they needed special permission for that trip as well.

The ship did finally did go back to NYC from Boston, we were again told they needed special permission for that trip as well.

Special permission was required because the ship never called on a foreign port. It ended up as a cruise from NY to Boston and return.

Ok, because all this is rather confusing, and missing the ship due to weather something I've never had to think about before, living in and sailing from Florida, I've got a question...We booked a cruise from NJ in late December, and I know there's a chance bad weather could come into play. We did book flights out of here very early in the am, day before, hoping for a little wiggle room. But, if worse comes to worse, and we can't fly north, would we be permitted to board in Cape Canaveral, and continue with the rest of the cruise...It still has 2 stops, Nassau and Coco Cay.

But, if worse comes to worse, and we can't fly north, would we be permitted to board in Cape Canaveral, and continue with the rest of the cruise...It still has 2 stops, Nassau and Coco Cay.

You cannot board in another US port you would need to board in Nassau if that is the 1st foreign port

You cannot board in another US port you would need to board in Nassau if that is the 1st foreign port

Well shoot. I bought insurance, and will pray for good weather. Thanks for your help.